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By Darcy Ellis
Editor
6-20-2009 Those seemingly ubiquitous road construction projects from Mono County to Coso Junction this past year could be among the last major highway upgrades the Eastern Sierra sees in quite some time.
While it may have been “a banner year for construction” in Caltrans District 9, Director Tom Hallenbeck told the Inyo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, with more than $100 million in construction projects currently under way in Inyo and Mono counties, those projects “have been a long time coming.” These projects were all programmed well in advance of the current state and federal cash flow roadblocks.
According to Hallenbeck, the California legislature is now discussing borrowing from the state highway account – an apparently increasingly common, possibly unconstitutional move by the state as it dips into the specially ear-marked accounts of agencies across the board.
Hallenbeck said the reduction in funds could have “an effect on long-term projects,” but “so far, there’s no word it will hold up” the Lone Pine Pavement Preservation Project or Coso Safety Roadside Rest Area Rehab, two undertakings about to become reality thanks to the receipt of federal stimulus dollars.
Actually, Hallenbeck told the supervisors, Caltrans District 9 “didn’t fare well” when it came to the Obama relief money, receiving only enough funding to pay for two chip overlap projects: one in the Shoshone/Pahrump area; the other in Mono County. But the stimulus money did free up funding that Caltrans will be able to put to use on the Lone Pine and Coso projects, Hallenbeck said.
Funding for the widespread, current construction ongoing throughout the Eastern Sierra was made available through either the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program or State Highway Operation and Protection Program, and, as Hallenbeck said, was allocated well before the state began drowning in red ink.
On the current construction front, Hallenbeck also had some good news for the board in that several of the projects are nearing completion, or are reaching stages where inconvenience to the traveling public and local residences can be minimized.
A breakdown of the major projects:
• Coso Pavement Preservation Project, south of Little Lake.
• North Little Lake Rehab, which includes widening the shoulders of U.S. 395 and realigning a curve that used to accommodate a now non-existent hotel and gas station.
• Manzanar/Independence Four-Lane Project, consisting of upgrading existing two-lane highway to a four-lane expressway.
With the town of Independence ready to host its annual July 4 celebration in a couple weeks, Hallenbeck said Caltrans is cognizant of residents’ wishes to be able to have “a nice Fourth of July parade.”
According to Hallenbeck, sidewalk construction in Independence is ongoing at this point. Brad Mettam, Caltrans deputy district director of planning and programming, said Friday that all the groundwork has been completed on the northbound lanes and they’re ready for asphalt to be lain. That step, he said, is dependent on the contractor.
Independence will have pavement on July 4 whether the contractor is able to lay the asphalt or not, but “our hope is to have some nice, fresh pavement for them,” Mettam said.
Beyond the Fourth of July, Caltrans has called in staff from its state geotechnical office before it begins work on the other side of the street.
Earlier this year, crews uncovered 14 underground storage tanks from gas stations and related businesses that had occupied sites there over the years. “Some of the tanks still had product in them,” Hallenbeck said. The geotechnical crew will be utilizing ground-penetrating radar to hopefully uncover any more abandoned tanks before Caltrans starts digging.
• Blackrock Four-Lane Project, including the widening of shoulders from the Blackrock area of U.S. 395 to Poverty Hills outside of Big Pine.
Traffic flow has now been separated through the construction zone, Hallenbeck said, and will be permanently set loose on the safer, four-lane expressway some time in July.
• Ed Powers Rehab, including the construction of sidewalks and widening of shoulders north of Bishop.
• South Sherwin Summit Rehab, including the widening of shoulders on U.S. 395 as it enters and exits Bishop near the Mono County line.
Hallenbeck explained that the project also includes the addition of some “chain-up” areas for snowbound travelers. He added that previously inadequate shoulders “have caused some problems with traffic that needs to pull over, and there’s not enough room.”
• Pavement overlay in Big Pine.
Absent from the list, and from future project lists for many years to come, is the Olancha-Cartago Four-Lane Project, the last of the expressway upgrades slated for Inyo and Mono counties.
Fifth District Supervisor Richard Cervantes, in whose district the stretch of highway in need of the four-laning lies, asked Hallenbeck whether the legislature’s proposed borrowing from the state highway account would further delay the long-anticipated project.
Hallenbeck’s short answer was if the money’s not there to purchase the right-of-way, then Caltrans won’t be able to move ahead with construction.
Mettam added Friday that right now, construction is programmed to begin in 2015, with the current project timeline calling for at least two years of environmental work before the design phase when Caltrans would begin right-of-way acquisition.
“I expect by that time,” Mettam said, “the state cash flow problem” – one way or another – “will have been resolved.”
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